Color motion picture camera



A. SECCI March 26, 1935.

COLOR MOTION PICTURE CAMERA Filed July 18, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 YNVf/VTOR:

ARMENO 55601.

BY 5% Arrwney March 26, 1935. A. SECCI COLOR uo'nou PICTURE CAMERA Filed July 18, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 H Ir mwwwi wif h 11 nwfiai kw 1 5 INVENTORI RRmzuo .Szcc:

Patented Mar. 26, 1935 1,995,437

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1,995,437 COLOR MOTION PICTURE CAMERA Armeno Secci, Paris, France, assignor to Francita, Societe de Films on Couleurs Naturelles, Paris, France Application July 18, 1933, Serial No. 680,940 In France August 1, 1932 2 Claims. (Cl. 88-163) Numerous methods and devices have already films having special dimensions, or standard been proposed for the color kinematography, but films which are driven then at the considerable these methods and devices have not already been speed of three standard images at a time, said used on a large scale on account of their impercondition requiring special driving mechanism 5 feet results due either to insufiicient coloring efand consequently no use can be made of the 5 fects, or to the complicate or cumbersome optlusual projectors commonly utilized in the playcal systems, or to the necessity of using films houses for projecting the monochrome films. having special dimensions, or to the impossi- It has also been proposed to take simultanebeen proposed, but it has been experienced that, the two first images or after the two first images. in order to obtain a true reproduction of the It is then necessary to use at least two different complementary colors, such as red, green and for said films. blue for instance. Methods have even been pro- It is proposed, in the present invention. to obposed for obtaining images corresponding to more tain successive series of three images selected than three colors, but these methods require through three filters having red, green and blue complicate optical systems or films with special colors, on a standard film adapted to be driven dimensions, or provided with coatings having through an ordinary projector by means of an 20 different sensibilities. optical system as simple as possible and having For the three color kinematography, it has relatively large objectives. For this purpose, use been proposed to make successive series of groups is made of the known fact according to which of three images, these images being taken at the fringes due to the projection of a blue image short time intervals, but how little these interon two red and green images which are exactly vals may be, the positions of the objects in the superposable, do not affect in any disagreeable consequently the three selected images are not tinction with the prejudicial effect produced when quite identical and are thus not superposable. the red image or the green image is not super- When these three images are projected simulposable on the two other colored images. 30 taneously on the projection screen, the resulting With the motion picture camera according to image is not perfectly pure, due to the lack of the present invention, an optical system is used superposition, and fringes of different colors are which produces simultaneously two identical and produced having a disagreeable efifect on the superposable images of the same object and from eyes of the spectator. one point of view and disposed in such manner It has also been proposed to make successive that two identicalimages are situated diagonally series of groups of three images taken simultain a standard image area of a standard film each neously through three objectives which are necesintermittent displacement of said film being equal sarily at a distance from each other. The three to half the height of a standard image of a images are consequently not taken from the same standard film, and two groups of color filters, 40 point of view and are consequently not identical comprising the one a red filter and a green filter nor superposable, and when said images are proand the other a blue filter, are brought succesjected, the same drawbacks are produced as for sively opposite said optical system, in such manthe first method above described. Moreover, it is ner that two superposable images corresponding order to obtain simultaneously three images. for one position of the film and of the filters, It has also been proposed to make successive and that an image corresponding to the blue series of groups of three images taken simulcolor is recorded on a free space in said same taneously through optical systems giving simulstandard image area for the next position of the 50 taneously three identical images of the same obfilm and of the filters. ject and from one point of view. With this meth- When it is desired to project a positive film 0d, superposable and identical images are obobtained by said apparatus, the three images cortained, but it is necessary to use complicate opresponding to the red, green and blue colors, are L tical systems; moreover, it is necessary to use projected simultaneously on the screen, and the 55 standard film is displaced after each projection on a distance corresponding to the height of a standard image. It is thus not necessary to modify the driving mechanism of the usual projector.

It is observed that, in the apparatus for taking the views, the two objectives are spaced at a distance from each other corresponding to the distance between said two diagonally disposed images, whereby a greater space is available for said objectives, and consequently use may be made of relatively large objectives.

Fig. l is a diagrammatic perspective view, showing the relative positions of the subject, the camera and the negative film during the first exposure.

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the positions of the parts during the next succeeding exposure.

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic perspective view of the driving mechanism for the film and the obturator.

In the followingdescription, it has been assumed that the subject is a waving tricolor flag: the stripe 1 situated along the staff is red, the central stripe 2 IS blue and the outer stripe 3 is green. The colors are shown in the drawings, by a conventional cross-hatching.

The process according to the invention, as applied to motion pictures, consists in forming on a negative film 4 of standard size successive series of images, each comprising three images 6a, 7a, 8a. In each series the images 6a and 7a are disposed diagonally of a standard image area of the film and are taken simultaneously through red and green filters respectively.

The image 8a is taken immediately thereafter, in the manner hereinafter described, through a blue screen.

The negative film used may be an homogenous panchromatic film, sensitized in all its points to the principal radiations of the spectrum; use may also be made of a heterogenous film, divided in zones corresponding to the areas of the selected images, the emulsion in each zone being sensitized to the radiations of the spectrum which correspond to the color of the particular selected image to be impressed in said zone. For instance, the film may comprise at the left hand a stripe in which the emulsion is sensitized to the red radiations, and at the right hand a stripe in which the emulsion is sensitized to the green and blue radiations.

In the example herein illustrated it is assumed for the sake of clearness that the subject comprises quite pure colors; in practice, for the various subjects of the nature, each image may reproduce substantially all the details of the subject, the actinic action on the film depending at each point upon the color of the corresponding point of the subject.

The centres of the different images 6a, 7a, 8a, i. e. the images of the centre 0 of the subject are denoted by m, n, p.

The negative film above described is exposed in the camera which comprises two objectives 9 and 10, whose optical axes XX and Y-Y are distant through an amount Z, equal to the distance between the centres of two images such as 6a and 7a, disposed diagonally of the film 4, and these objectives are so arranged that the axis X-X passes through the centre of the subject and that the trace upon the film 4 of the plane containing said axes X-X and Y-Y will coincide with the diagonal mn.

In front of the objectiv 9, and upon the axis X-X thereof, is arranged an opaque mirror 11,

inclined at 45 upon said axis X-X and perpendicular to the plane of axes X-X and Y-Y. The reflecting surface 12 of said mirror 11 lies opposite the subject; said mirror is formed with a series of apertures 13 of rectangular shape or of any other shape (round, oval, rhombus-shaped or polygonal or in the shape of rectilinear, curved or spiral facets, etc.) Preferably the size of the perforations will be quite reduced, but large enough to prevent diffraction of the light which passes therethrough.

The total area of the perforations may be variable with respect to the area of the reflecting surfaces, depending on the sensitiveness of the film or film zones to the various colors. For the sake of simplicity, it will be supposed that these areas are substantially equal.

Upon the axis of the second objective 10 is arranged an opaque mirror 14, whose reflecting surface 15 is turned toward the objective 10. This second mirror 14 is parallel with mirror 11, whereby the light reflected by the latter is reflected in the direction of the optical axes YY of objective 10.

Behind the objectives 9 and 10 is mounted an opaque disc 16, rotatable about an axle 16a. Said disc 16 is provided at one side with two concentric circular apertures, whose circular middle lines are distant radially through an amount at. Said apertures are provided respectively with a red transparent filter l7 and a green transparent filter 18. Disc 16 comprises a third transparent filter 19, colored in blue, and diametrically opposite filter 18. Two opaque sectors 20 and 21 separate filters 17, 18 from filter 19, whereby disc 16 also serves as an obturator.

The film 4 is displaced in an intermittent manner in the direction of arrow I through a stroke equal to the distance n 1) between the centres of the images 7a and 8a to be obtained, that is through half the height of a normal image area; otherwise stated, with a standard film having four perforations 5 per image area, the stroke of the film will be equal to two perforations. At each stroke a: of film 4, disc 16 performs half a revolution, in the direction of arrow 1 for instance. For this purpose, on the rotatable axle 16a of disc 16 is secured a worm wheel 23 meshing with a worm wheel 24 secured on an axle 25. the diameter of wheel 23 being twice that of wheel 24. On the axle 25 is secured a disc 26 provided with a crank pin 2''! on which is pivoted one end of a link 28, the other end of which pivoted on an arm 29 pivoted on the fixed pin 30. The link 28 carries driving claws 31 adapted to be engaged into and removed from the perforations 5 of the film 4 guided in the gate 32.

The rate of the exposures may be as desired, preferably the standard rate of twenty four times the standard stroke 21: per second; the film will thus be fed through 48 strokes :1: per second.

The operation is as follows: the flag being in the position P (Fig. 1), the single light bundel issuing from said flag is divided by mirror 11 into two elementary bundels. One elementary bundel passes through the perforations 13, the objective 9, the green filter 18 and impresses the image 7a, consisting mainly of the green stripe 2. The other bundel, which is identical with the former, except for the luminous intensity, is reflected by the mirrors l1 and 14, passesthrough the objective 10 and the filter 1'1 and impresses the image 6a. consisting mainly of the red stripe 1. Disc 16 is then rotated through a and, as one of the sectors 20 or 21, acting as an obmarginal portion of disc 16.

The exposures proceed similarly for the other successive series of images.

On the negative film, a narrow band 22 may be left for a sound record. The film is then developed and, from the negative thus obtained, positive copies are taken by the usual processes and the three images of each series of said positive film are simultaneously projectedthrough corresponding red, green and blue filters upon a screen.

Having now described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a motion picture camera, a gate adapted to guide a film of a standard width, a film feeding mechanism adapted to displace said film in said gate intermittently through half the height of a standard image area, means for dividing the light bundel entering the camera into two ele-' mental-y parallel light bundels adapted to be projected on twopartial areas disposed diagonally and adapted to assume two difierent positions,

' the one in which the red and green filters are projected simultaneously on the of said elementary light bundels and the other in which the blue filter is in the path of one of said elementary light bundels, and

bring successively said movable member into said two positions, whereby two images corresponding respectively to the red and green filters are two diagonally disposed partial areas of a standard image area for one position of the film and '01 the movable 2. In a motion picture camera, a gate adapted to guide a film of a standard width, a film feedparallel reflecting surfaces facing each other and inclined with relation to the optical axes of said objectives, one reflecting surface being perforated and adapted to divide the light bundel entering the camera into two elementary light passage through said perforated reflecting surface towards oneof said objectives, the other refiecting surface being adapted to reflect the light are adapted to be projected upon said two diagonally disposed partial areas, a movable member carrying on one hand a red filter and a green filter and on the other hand a blue filter and adapted to assume two different positions, the one is projected separately on another partial area of the same standard image area for the next position of the film and of the movable member.

ARMENO SECCI. 

